The Way offers Christ-centered recovery strategies

Kay Campbell / The Huntsville TimesTommy Lones scatters sawdust as he rips into 2 by 4s to build a clothing rack for The Saving Way, an up-scale thrift store at the corner of west University Drive and Oster Drive in Huntsville, that will help support the recovery programs at The Way. HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Looks, wealth, a college education, a beautiful wife, two great kids in private school, and a big, shiny Cadillac Escalade: Marko Orrill had it all.

"Mine is a riches-to-rags story," Orrill said last week as he swung a bag of clothing into the trunk of his used car outside of The Way, a residential rehabilitation center for men battling addictions.

"I was living the American Dream, and alcohol took all that away. And after all that country club life, I couldn't get anybody to bring me a toothbrush when I landed in jail."

Orrill, sober for more than a year now, is re-building his life with help from the skills and truths he's learned at The Way. He'll be using his business background now as the person in charge of donations at The Saving Way, an up-scale thrift and crafts store opening Nov. 7 on University Drive.

"I'd never even cracked a Bible before I came here," Orrill said. "But God has restored my relationships."

Kay Campbell/The Huntsville TimesMarko OrrillThe Way's goal is to keep Christ at the center of recovery as well as to build real-life skills for the 17 residents and numerous former residents in various stages of re-starting their lives.

In rehabilitation work, defining "success" is tricky - rebuilding a life often takes more than one try.

"Our goal is to sow the seeds of recovery into the hearts of every man," said Tom Reynolds, director. "We want to give him the opportunity to get the tools to succeed, and know that while he was here, he met Jesus and experienced the Gospel."

Baited by God

Clyde Jones, 81, a retired engineer who is the founder of The Way, chuckles a little when he considers how he became involved in recovery work.

A former elder at Central Church of Christ, where he remains active, Jones had a reputation for teaching people about Jesus.

That's what brought a call several years ago from a father in Arkansas, begging him to go meet his son when he was released from the city jail to try to help the young man.

"Well, we put him up in a place, helped him a little. It's been five or six years and he's still clean and working as an addiction counselor in a program in Louisville," Jones said. "And there was another young woman who's now been clean for five years - they seemed to do real well."

"So I said, 'This must be easy.'" Jones pauses in his story to chuckle again. "I think God sort of baited me."

Meanwhile, Jones' son's company in Knoxville, a start-up that he had largely been bankrolling to keep his son from bankruptcy, took off. Suddenly successful, the company was sold for $9 million. As the major stockholder, overnight Jones went from "average-Joe-retired-engineer" to "someone who had more money than I knew what to do with."

The sale came just when he realized that people overcoming addiction often need a residential program to give them a new structure for their lives. His money went to buy a former Alzheimer's nursing home on Shields Road, with room for 17 clients to live in a home-like environment.

As he became drawn into work with addicts, he learned to see everything, even the church, with new eyes.

"I haven't seen any churches that have people who are free of this problem," Jones said. "And to be frank, I believe religion is part of the problem."

"I mean we can get involved in a lot of forms, appearances, and that ends up being a crutch that makes us feel good about ourselves, but we're not really living Christ-like lives," Jones said.

200-odd years

Pretending to be something you're not isn't an option at The Way, say current residents.

"I'm real young," said Mike Denmark, 18. "And I think I've been around, but some of these guys have been through a lot, and I've been able to get their insight without worrying about how to present myself to them."

Ellen Hudson/The Huntsville TimesAlbert Butts, center, explains how God led him to The Way, a faith-based residential rehabilitation center for men in Huntsville. Listening at left is Mike Denmark. At right is Marko Orrill."You add up all the ages, and there's 200-odd years of experience to talk about," said Tommy Lomes, a skilled carpenter who is in charge of the internal renovations at The Saving Way.

"Some of them have been really odd," said Tim Hopper, bringing a round of knowing laughter from the men gathered for morning Bible study recently.

Terry Finley, a retired Army chaplain who is assistant weekend director at The Way, listened intently, not interrupting the conversation in the room.

"We call it a 'ministry of presence,'" Finley said later. "When I came here eight months ago, I thought addicts were scum and stupid. But these guys have taught me a lot. These guys are all smart. Alcohol is no respecter of persons. But I have seen that all of these guys have a poor self-image. Part of my goal is to help their self image - because they're something."

Accepting forgiveness

Learning to forgive themselves, to see that God could use such a broken person has been one of the most startling lessons he's learned, said Alan Watkins.

"One of the things that's been the hardest is to accept God's forgiveness for what I've done, for the opportunities missed," Watkins said. "I can beat myself up, but the good news is that, through God's forgiveness, I've got the opportunity now to start living my life in a way I know He would have me to do."

On-going relationships between the men in the program and those who have graduated help keep that message of hope coming in, despite the few who leave early or relapse.

Blake Kelley, 28, points to The Way as the final aide station that helped rescue him from a suicidal alcohol problem. Hooked from his first sip of beer at 13, Kelley said he spent the years from 15 to 27 trying to kick the habit, on his own, and with the help of other programs.

He hit bottom the autumn after his father had died, his grandmother had died, his best friend had died and his fiancee broke up with him. He was praying for death. He would drink himself into a stupor every night and awake each morning disappointed to find that he was still breathing.

A phone call from a family friend pushed him toward The Way, where he came after getting de-toxed at CrestwoodHospital.

It was at The Way, one morning when a requirement of the program had made him mad. He'd retreated to his room to pack when it hit him: God had heard his prayer.

Kelley stayed with the program. Bit by bit, he re-built his life, re-built his patience, re-built his priorities.

Now newly married, he has a house, a car, a good job.

"It's just by the grace of God," he said. "I should be dead by now."

"I'm not the richest man in the world, but inside I am," Kelley said. "The Way showed me how to be responsible, how to live in the real world, how to get patience -and the only way to get there is through Jesus Christ. The classes taught me how to trust in him, depend on him."

Finding 'The Way'

The Way, a Christ-centered, six-month residential recovery program for men overcoming alcohol and drug addictions, has a 17-bed home at 582 Shields Road. 256-859-5149.

The Saving Way, a 10,000-square-foot up-scale thrift store that will help support the ministry, will open by Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the corner of University and Oster Drives. The store will be open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and offers pick-up of donations. Information at 503-4404.

Volunteers are welcome at The Way to help with teaching, mentoring, transportation, store and administrative help. Artisans are invited to sell their items in The Saving Way.

Celebrate Recovery, support groups for people overcoming addictions, are hosted at several area churches, including Willowbrook Baptist Church, 7625 Bailey Cove Road; First Church of the Nazarene, 9640 Meridian St. N.; and Cove United Methodist Church, 366 Old 431 in Hampton Cove.